Process Optimization of an Aerobic Upflow Sludge Blanket Reactor System
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 6
Abstract
Response of an aerobic upflow sludge blanket (AUSB) reactor system to the changes in operating conditions was investigated by varying two principle operating variables: the oxygenation pressure and the flow recirculation rate. The oxygenation pressure was varied between 0 and (relative), while flow recirculation rates were between 1,300 and 600% correspondingly. The AUSB reactor system was able to handle a volumetric loading of as high as total organic carbon , with a removal efficiency of 92%. The rate of TOC removal by AUSB was highest at a pressure of and it decreased when the pressure was increased to and the flow recirculation rate was reduced to 600%. The TOC removal rate also decreased when the operating pressure was reduced to 0 and , with corresponding increase in flow recirculation rates to 1,300 and 1,000%, respectively. Maintenance of a high dissolved oxygen level and a high flow recirculation rate was found to improve the substrate removal capacity of the AUSB system. The AUSB system was extremely effective in retaining the produced biomass despite a high upflow velocity and the overall sludge yield was only VSS/g TOC removed. However, the effluent TOC was relatively high due to the system’s operation at a high organic loading.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Beun, J. J., Hendriks, A. van Loosdrecht, M. C. M., Morgenroth, E., Wilderer, P. A., and Heijnen, J. J. (1999). “Aerobic granulation in a sequencing batch reactor.” Water Res., 33(10), 2283–2290.
Bloor, J. C., Anderson, G. K., and Willey, A. R. (1995). “High-rate aerobic treatment of brewery wastewater using the jet loop reactor.” Water Res., 29(5), 1217–1223.
Heijnen, J. J., Beun, J. J., van Loosdrecht, M. C. M., Mulder, A., and Tijhuis, I. (1992). “Formation of biofilms in a biofilm air-lift suspension reactor.” Water Sci. Technol., 26(3–4), 647–654.
Huang, J. C., and Bates, V. T. (1980). “Comparative performance of rotating biological contactors using air and pure oxygen.” J. Water Pollut. Control Fed., 52(11), 2686–2703.
Jeison, D., and Chamy, R. (1999). “Comparison of the behavior of expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors in dilute and concentrated wastewater treatment.” Water Sci. Technol., 40(8), 91–97.
Jewell, W. J. (1981). “Development of the attached microbial film expanded-bed process for aerobic and anaerobic waste treatment.” Biological fluidised bed treatment of water and wastewater, P. F. Cooper and B. Atkinson, eds., Ellis Horwood Limited, London, 251–267.
Kato, M. T., Field, J. A., Versteeg, P., and Lettinga, G. (1994). “Feasibility of expanded bed granular sludge bed reactors for the anaerobic treatment of low-strength soluble wastewaters.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 44, 469–479.
Liu, Y., and Tay, J. H. (2002). “The essential role of hydrodyanamic shear force in the formation of biofilm and granular sludge.” Water Res., 36(7), 1653–1665.
Mishima, K., and Nakamura, M. (1991). “Self-immobilization of aerobic activated sludge: A pilot study of the aerobic upflow sludge blanket process in municipal sewage treatment.” Water Sci. Technol., 23(4–6), 981–990.
Nutt, S. G., Stephenson, J. P., and Pries, J. H. (1981). “Steady and nonsteady-state performance of the aerobic (oxygenic) biological fluidised bed.” Biological fluidised bed treatment of water and wastewater, P. F. Cooper and B. Atkinson, eds., Ellis Horwood Limited, London, 145–160.
Ødegaard, H., Rusten, B., and Westrum, T. (1994). “A new moving-bed biofilm reactor: Applications and results.” Water Sci. Technol., 29(10–11), 157–165.
Shin, H. S., Lim, K. H., and Park, H. S. (1992). “Effect of shear stress on granulation in oxygen aerobic upflow sludge bed reactors.” Water Sci. Technol., 26(3–4), 601–605.
Smolders, G. J. F., Klop, J., van Loosdrecht, M. C. M., and Heijnen, J. J. (1995). “A metabolic model of the biological phosphorus removal process I: Effects of the sludge retention time.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 44, 595–608.
Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 20th Ed. (1998). American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and Water Environment Federation, Washington, D.C.
Stephenson, R. J., Patoine, A., and Guiot, S. R. (1999). “Effects of oxygenation and upflow liquid velocity on a coupled anaerobic/aerobic reactor system.” Water Res., 33(12), 2855–2863.
Tavares, C. R. G., Santanna, G. L., and Capdeville, B. (1995). “The effect of air superficial velocity on biofilm accumulation in a three-phase fluidized-bed reactor.” Water Res., 29(10), 2293–2298.
Tay, J. H., Pan, S., Tay, S. T. L., Ivanov, V., and Liu, Y. (2003). “The effect of organic loading rate on the aerobic granulation: The development of shear force theory.” Water Sci. Technol., 47(11), 235–240.
Tijhuis, L., van Loosdrecht, M. C. M., and Heijnen, J. J. (1994). “Formation and growth of heterotrophic aerobic biofilms on small suspended particles in airlift reactors.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 44, 595–608.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 6 • June 2005
Pages: 901 - 908
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 11, 2003
Accepted: Jul 26, 2004
Published online: Jun 1, 2005
Published in print: Jun 2005
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.